Chapter 119
When the third and fourth place finals began, the Portuguese team was doing night training.
Carvalho and Cristiano practiced offense and defense. After a few rounds, Carvalho raised his hand to indicate that he needed to drink some water, and the two came to the sidelines to rest for a while.
"You're in good form, Cristiano." Carvalho bumped Cristiano's shoulder, smiled and drank a sip of water, teasing, "I thought you were focused on the game in Brazil today."
Cristiano pushed back with his shoulder and raised his eyebrows: "Don't think I'm so unprofessional."
"My bad." Carvalho saw Figo looking at them, raised his hand and said quickly with a smile, "Shall we continue?"
Cristiano responded and grinned at Carvalho.
Carvalho felt something was wrong, and sure enough, in the subsequent sparring, Cristiano dribbled past him several times in a fancy way. He felt like a hunter, aiming at a deer in the forest but couldn't hit it clearly.
He was panting, and after being notified by the assistant coach to leave the training, he sat down on the grass, and warned himself in his heart that he should never, ever provoke Cristiano again, because that little bastard would take revenge on him, right then and there.
Deco and Costa could not help but stare at Cristiano. Those few dribbling moves that seemed like a flash of inspiration were so dizzying. They tried to jump twice - it was difficult to learn, so they decided to practice secretly.
Cristiano reached out and pulled Carvalho up from the ground. The intense training made him sweat all over. The red color on his face after the exercise was smudged like eye makeup. He wiped his face and patted his teammate's shoulder with a smile: "Want to take a shower together?"
"Go away." Carvalho waved his hand, not wanting to see this annoying strawberry spirit for the time being.
Cristiano ran off laughing.
He took a quick shower and immediately boarded the bus back to the hotel, checking his phone while waiting for his teammates to pack up and go back together.
The third and fourth place finals were almost over, and the score was 0-0 during regular time, with no one able to score.
After the game went into overtime, Brazil took the lead with a tactical free kick. Fifteen minutes later, the goals were exchanged and Germany launched a counterattack and scored a free kick.
The score is deadlocked at 1-1.
If it goes on any longer, it will be a penalty kick.
【C: How was the game? 】
Alma was watching the game. When her phone rang, she raised her eyebrows and replied.
[E: I guess it’s going to be a penalty kick? Although I don't understand football, it seems that Kaka's teammates are not very active. Are they planning to delay the game until a penalty kick? 】
Alma covered her mouth and yawned slightly. To be honest, she really didn't understand basketball. She hadn't even watched two games of her beloved brother, let alone this game.
There was no goal in the 90 minutes of regular time, and she almost lamented in her heart. Any change in the score would not make her feel like she was in prison.
And now, all the players are returning to defense like parking a bus, making the field look extremely boring.
If Kaka hadn't been on the court, she would have wanted to take a nap and wait and see the result.
Just as she lowered her head to chat with her brother on the phone, something suddenly happened on the scene.
The commentators on the sidelines became excited——
"Brazil got a great chance to steal and counterattack!"
After receiving the pass from his teammate, Kaka quickly exchanged glances with Ronaldo beside him. Kaka dribbled the ball towards the midfield, and Ronaldo followed on the wing.
Faced with the double-team of two German defenders, Kaka decisively passed the ball to Ronaldo.
After he passed the ball, he immediately accelerated and sprinted towards the German penalty area.
Ronaldo ran forward a few steps with the ball and then kicked it decisively, and the ball drew a perfect parabola.
"Ah, this long pass is a bit too deep! The speed is too high!"
"Kaka caught up! Kaka actually caught up with the ball!"
"Shoot directly from a small angle outside the restricted area!"
Alma heard a commotion on the field, she couldn't help but put down her phone and leaned forward, just in time to see Kaka catch up with the ball, kick back twice and adjust slightly, then kick the ball without hesitation, scoring a beautiful world wave goal outside the penalty area!
The entire side of the stands suddenly became boiling!
"The ball goes in! Kaka scored a crucial goal for Brazil in overtime! There's not much time left for Germany!"
The commentator in the broadcast room pointed to the screen and said, "Let's take a look at the replay of this goal!"
"Kaka organized this attack after receiving the pass from his teammate."
"Look here, he passed the ball to Ronaldo and then ran forward. This is a very tacit tactical cooperation! Left-footed shot from a small angle outside the penalty area! Very calm and decisive!"
"It looked like both teams were going to use penalty kicks to delay the game. Brazilian coach Pereira had earlier gestured to the players on the field to return to defense, which should have meant that he had already planned to arrange the penalty list. However, Kaka's unexpected goal completely disrupted the formations of both teams! No, it should have disrupted the formation of the German team!"
The commentator partner couldn't help but laugh: "This is really not following the routine. We agreed that everyone would hold hands and no one would shoot at the goal, and we would go to the goal together, but in the blink of an eye, the goal was scored 2-1. This is so sad."
In the limited overtime that followed, the German team failed to launch an effective counterattack. In the end, in the third and fourth place final, Brazil defeated the host Germany team 2-1.
"Congratulations to Brazil for winning the third place in this World Cup!"
Alma took a deep breath, lowered her head and quickly sent a text message to her brother.
【E: Winner! No penalty! 】
Cristiano replied almost instantly——
[C: I know, not surprised at all (￣︶￣)]
Alma narrowed her eyes and looked at the text message Cristiano sent back. The last little expression made her feel a little guilty.
She sighed softly and decided not to pay any more attention to Chris.
Cristiano was sitting on the bus on the way back. He curled his lips and happily put away his phone. When he looked up again, he saw his teammates staring at him.
He couldn't help but stiffen his movements and coughed awkwardly: "What are you doing?"
"Look at what you are looking at that makes you look like that," Deco said.
Cristiano touched his face when he heard this: "What's that expression?"
"A parent who secretly shows off his or her child's academic performance will make the entire group of parents clench their fists," Carvalho said on the side.
Cristiano: “…”
What with what.
He rolled his eyes dramatically.
"So what are you looking at?" Figo asked.
Cristiano cleared his throat: "I'm just checking in on the game that just ended."
Carvalho raised his eyebrows when he heard this. It seemed that his description was absolutely correct.
However, thinking of Cristiano's previous performance on the training ground, he wisely swallowed the idea.
Figo and Deco both showed surprised expressions. It turned out that they were watching Kaka's game. It was not surprising to see Cristiano with such an expression.
Cristiano's ears were burning from being stared at by his teammates. He was clearly just concerned about the game, but his teammates looked at him as if he was having a love affair at public expense. He shouted and changed the subject: "Anyone want to watch the highlights of Italy's previous games? Ricardo, can you help me pull up a video?"
Ricardo laughed. He came over cheerfully and whispered to Chris while fiddling with it: "You know that even if you watch the Italian game now, you can't hide the expression on your face just now, right?"
Cristiano: “…I didn’t!”
"We are flying to Berlin early tomorrow morning. Stop struggling and go to bed early." Figo spoke up to smooth things over. He smiled helplessly and suppressed Cristiano, who was about to jump up from his seat. He looked at Ricardo and shook his head slightly, signaling their goalkeeper to stop teasing the kid.
Cristiano quickly went down the stairs given by the captain. He responded, put on his headphones and said, "Yes, I will rest now. Luis, call me at the hotel."
"Don't worry, I will remember you even if they forget to call me." Ricardo said as he pulled off half of the boy's earphones, and then put them back on Cristiano neatly.
After he finished speaking, he heard two consecutive bursts of uncontrollable laughter from behind him. Deco and Nuno lowered their heads and tried hard to hold back their laughter.
Ricardo gave each one a fist bump.
Figo covered his face in shame. The fact that he left their goalkeeper behind would probably be brought up at every World Cup gathering among old friends.
///
Berlin Olympic Stadium.
Cristiano and his team arrived at the venue very early.
They familiarized themselves with the venue in advance. The surrounding area of the venue was already hung with the flags of Portugal and Italy. This final was bound to attract everyone's attention.
Dolores and her friends entered the stadium half an hour before the game started, and the entire Olympic Stadium was already packed with people.
She and Dinis were even enthusiastically stopped by fans passing by outside the stadium and had the red and green colors of the Portuguese flag smeared on their faces.
Alma and Katia also came forward with great interest, put a piece of paint under their eyes, and then bought scarves of the Portuguese national team at the side of the stadium. Di Gan bought a silk scarf with the player's name and ball number printed on it - of course, he bought the No. 17 Ronaldo scarf.
Although the scarf later ended up on his brother's wrist, this made Digan extremely depressed. If he had known earlier, he would have bought two. Couldn't his brother wear the Brazilian kaka scarf he had bought before? !
Kaka did not enter the stadium with them. He went in earlier from another passage and met Cristiano in the locker room in advance.
When Figo saw Kaka appear here, he couldn't help but frown. Is this Brazilian here to disturb their golden boy's heart? Come over at this time?
He glanced at the other party as a warning - of course, he looked for an angle where Cristiano couldn't see it - fortunately, Kaka didn't stay long. It was as if he came here just to cheer him up. He just hugged Cristiano and was not angry at all for Figo's warning.
"What on earth is he doing here?" Nuno asked others in confusion.
"Who knows?" Deco shrugged.
His eyes turned to Cristiano, their golden boy who had seemed to have been given a shot of revival since Kaka's departure.
Anyway, it doesn't seem to be a bad thing at the moment.
Cristiano smiled happily and led his caddy out of the player tunnel.
Kaka came over and hugged him, and whispered in his ear:
I will find that Kaka, I'm on my way, Cris, thank you, and I love you, I hope you have no regrets, I will watch over you, you will always be the proudest child of Portugal.
Cristiano exhaled, smiled, sprinted two steps quickly, then jumped high and felt the touch of the green grass under his feet.
He raised his arms and looked towards the audience stands. He saw his family members waving their arms at him eagerly from afar. He blew them a kiss and immediately heard a nearly earth-shattering scream from the fans in the stadium, shouting "Cristiano Ronaldo". The scream scared Cristiano.
The last time he enjoyed such treatment was after the game against England.
As soon as he came out, the fans' roars and curses almost deafened his ears. Even on the bus with the doors and windows closed, he could still hear them clearly.
——So it’s no wonder that Figo lost his temper that night, left their goalkeeper behind, and drove straight onto the main road. No one can stand that.
This time is completely different from last time, this time it's a good one.
Alma, sitting in the box stands, couldn't help but gasp softly: "Oh my God... those people are shouting Chris's name?!"
"It's really crazy..." Hugo was also very surprised.
Even though they knew that their brother was already a big star on the court, this was the first time they had faced the enthusiastic atmosphere on the court so directly. It was completely different and simply two different dimensions.
"They love Ronnie." An older, calmer, smiling voice came from the side.
Ferguson was also sitting in the box stands. He was invited here - although he was a little surprised that he also saw Kaka from AC Milan here, as well as his family.
However, this also made Ferguson realize how much his little Portuguese valued friendship. He believed that Cristiano was the kind of person who would be willing to give his life for his friends. (①)
Ferguson looked at Cristiano's brothers and sisters and smiled: "This is just a small part. People love miracles, and Ronnie, he is the miracle itself."
The semi-final between Portugal and Brazil made almost all Portuguese people fall madly in love with the young future captain who created a new historical milestone for them.
This is also why the atmosphere in the entire stadium was so enthusiastic and positive in this game - you know, even in the last semi-final, during the warm-up, you could still hear fans outside or inside the stadium shouting slogans such as "Cristiano get out of Manchester United, get out of England."
It was Cristiano who changed all that.
For this reason, when Dolores and others arrived at the stadium, they did not feel the harsh and terrible environment that Cristiano had encountered half a month ago. The World Cup journey was full of surprises and unexpected events for them.
Dolores was flattered when she heard Coach Ferguson's comments. She quickly smiled and said, "Oh my God, you speak too highly of Chris. He is just a young kid..."
"Yes, my dear ma'am, Ronnie is still very young. I will watch him grow up. He will be a legend. Believe in my judgment, ma'am." Sir Ferguson said with a smile.
He turned his eyes to the court, and the national anthem began to play. He said softly: "The game is about to start, enjoy it."
The Portuguese national anthem and the singing of Portuguese fans rang out on the field. Cristiano put his arms around the shoulders of his teammates on both sides and couldn't help but feel a shock in his heart - this is the World Cup final, and they are actually standing here.
He raised his eyes and gazed eagerly at the Portuguese flag rising in the sky. His eyes became moist and he sang along loudly with the national anthem.
After the last note fell, Cristiano closed his eyes tightly. When he opened them again, he looked at his teammates, Figo, Deco, Costa... Everyone had red eyes, and he was not the only one.
He grinned, and they gathered together in tacit understanding, lowered their heads and shouted loudly in encouragement: "PORTUGAL!"
This night is destined to be brilliant and dazzling.
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